Which Chinese desert occupies much of the Ordos Loop south of the Yellow River?

The Ordos Desert occupies much of the Ordos Loop south of the Yellow River in northern China.

The desert lies in the Ordos region of Inner Mongolia, where the Yellow River makes a broad northward bend. Its terrain includes sandy areas, gravel surfaces, grasslands, and semiarid steppe. Because conditions vary across the region, “Ordos Desert” describes a broad dry landscape rather than one continuous field of dunes.

The area has long connected desert environments with pastoral economies and river-valley agriculture. Modern pressures include mining, urban growth, grazing, and desertification control. Shelterbelts, revegetation, and restrictions on land use have been used in different parts of the region.

The Ordos Desert is separate from the Gobi, which extends across a much larger area north of the Yellow River. It is also distinct from the Taklamakan, far to the west in the Tarim Basin.